The Fire Inside
by Zarius
Summary: "From now on Daph, we'll be your puppets" (tag for "Sorcerer Snack Scare")


**SCOOBY DOO:**

**THE FIRE INSIDE**

**WRITTEN BY ZARIUS**

**(Contains spoilers for Be Cool Scooby Doo episode "Sorcerer Snack Scare")**

* * *

As the Mystery Machine headed downtown, Shaggy and Scoob were relaxing in the back of the van filling themselves with boxes of the freshly rechristened sorcerer snacks, now named after the great dame that helped take care of the worrisome wizard that had stalked the gang at the Sorcerer Snack factory in a bid to prevent its ongoing production line.

It had been a day of indulgence for the pair; the snacks were used by Fred as motivational tools to entice Shaggy and Scooby to pull off all sorts of incredible feats that had contributed in small and large ways to apprehending the felon and saving the factory.

Shaggy knew he and Scooby would have pulled these feats off regardless of being bribed, but they couldn't resist the opportunity to make their friends feel reliant on the snacks to attain results, in a way it was a two-way power trip, they would give Fred the illusion of control over them when in reality it was they who were in control of him.

Someone, however, was seeing how much the reliability and the power was going to Fred's head, and didn't appreciate him using his friends in this position, overindulging them with the snacks to make his plans come to fruition. Someone who believed the snacks should be used as a token of friendship, not of bribery.

Shaggy and Scooby had taken notice of that someone and wanted to say their piece to them.

The Mystery Machine stopped for some gas, Fred and Velma stepped out of the van, Velma went in to the store to get some refreshments while Fred took the pump and gave his vehicle a load of the slick stuff.

It left Shaggy, Scoob and Daphne alone.

"Hey, Daph, I just wanted to say thanks for standing up for us back there" Shaggy said, tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention. Daphne didm't turn around, she sighed sadly.

"Daph?" Shaggy asked.

"Yeah" she said

"Ry Ro Glum?" Scooby asked.

"It's nothing, its silly even" Daphne said.

"We spent a whole day insisting we got food to do work, what's sillier than that?" Shaggy asked.

"The wizard was a puppeteer they were going to lay off; he labelled us all puppet haters because we meddled in his plans. Me, the biggest puppet lover of the bunch of us, it's just the sheer nerve of it. I told him to his face when we first met I loved puppets...and of course, now that he's arrested, he'll be charged and go to jail, and they'll be a stigma surrounding puppeteers, what does it say about me when my favourite pastime drives someone to crime? Is it that unhealthy an obsession?"

Shaggy gave her a small neck massage, Daphne held on to the back of his nimble fingers as he did so.

"Daph, back there you took command of the room dressing down Fred, you went toe-to-toe with that worrisome wizard and trapped him good. We're the ones with the super unhealthy fixation on these things, we're so wet, but with these snacks inside us, we ignite, they're the fire inside, and we can't get enough of it. You can set aside your obsessions when the time is right, we almost let that puppeteer get away just to reward our insatiable appetite"

Scooby handed Shaggy a box of Scooby snacks, Daphne turned around, Shaggy presented it to her.

"I'm glad you're taking charge of the snacks, Fred has all the plans, but you have the wisdom. You'll only share these snacks with us if you feel it's warranted, when you see how much fear and apprehension we have, how the will to help is there but the body is unwilling, when you offer the snacks, it shows how much you value our ability and have enough confidence we'll do what needs to be done. You have that empathy, you care for us, you're not just a friend, you're the best of our friends, you, like the snacks, ignite us. You're an extension of the flame, you supply the fire inside"

Daphne smiled and wrapped her arms around Shaggy, giving Scooby a pat on his head as he leapt on top of both of them.

"From now on Daph, we'll be your puppets"

"Res, rust rull rour strings" Scooby said


End file.
